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Mahaska County and the City of Oskaloosa Become Home Base Iowa Communities

July 24, 2017 - (Oskaloosa, Iowa) Lt. Governor Adam Gregg was on hand today to announce that Mahaska County, along with the city of Oskaloosa are the newest Home Base Iowa (HBI) Communities. The designation was held at the center square following the Southern Iowa Fair and attended by local veterans and community members, business leaders, and elected officials from local and state governments.

The Lt. Governor remarked, “Whether you’re a veteran from Vietnam or earlier, or transitioning out of the service from anywhere in the nation or world, Home Base Iowa is here to help. The program connects veterans with veteran-friendly employers and communities, as well as local and statewide resources.”

Home Base Iowa is a one-of-a-kind program assisting veterans and transitioning service members. HBI connects these members with close to 1,600 businesses, 21 college and university partners and 71 HBI Communities statewide. The program connects partners using the “Find a Veteran” feature, which provides access to all active veteran job seekers, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The feature also allows users to sort job seeker(s) based upon location and/or primary industry to enable direct contact and marketing to those veterans; this feature also allows businesses a user-friendly platform to find veterans with the skills they need, while communities benefit from the ability to attract veterans and their families.

HBI’s collaborative efforts help connect veterans and their families to resources and benefits in a state that values and honors their service. These benefits include no state tax on military pensions, in-state tuition, and down payment assistance/closing costs towards a qualifying home purchase. Iowa offers a cost of living below the national average and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, currently 3.1 percent.

Home Base Iowa designates qualified communities as centers of opportunity for military veterans based on four standards:

Within a designated community, at least 10 percent of the businesses must become Home Base Iowa businesses and pledged to hire veterans,

Community develops its own incentive package for veterans,

Community prominently displays Home Base Iowa Community designation, and

Community must obtain a resolution of support from the appropriate local governing body

Mahaska County and the city of Oskaloosa have met or exceeded these requirements. To learn more about Home Base Iowa, visit HomeBaseIowa.gov.